Here's an idea for a marketing activity so obvious, it's easy to overlook. So basic, it works for all kinds of graphic arts operations. Most companies define their programs as the sum of their marketing activities. Asked about programs, more than a few marketing and sales executives respond with a list: a company brochure, several mailed pieces, a Web site, a newsletter, lead generation activities and an annual open house—programs found at many companies. Do these add up to a marketing program? Maybe so, maybe not. It's not the items on the list that determine whether the activities constitute a program. The activities are tactics. What
Environmentally speaking, what's hot in inks? The EPA—hot on the trail of compliance offenders. But commercial printers cited for noncompliance need not join the much-dreaded "Environmental 4-H Club"—hazardous (as in waste), havoc (as in scrambling for compliance), helpless (the feeling of ineffective scrambling) and hell-to-pay (the cost of noncompliance). With hundreds of Hazardous Air Pollutants (HAPs) and Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) listed by the EPA—and even more listed at the state level—it's easy to see why printers are feeling suffocated by the growing compliance haze. This controversial issue, like the color of polluted air, is gray, on the best of days. "The first line
Editor's Note: This is the last installment in the monthly series on The F.P. Horak Co. and its quest for ISO 9002 registration. The opening meeting began as most meetings do—with introductions, handshakes and polite (albeit brief) conversation. However, the friendly atmosphere belied the underlying tension. It was Tuesday, Feb. 24, 8 a.m. Two men—two auditors—had come to The F.P. Horak Co. in Bay City, MI, to measure its quality system. As the auditors spoke during the opening meeting, the Horak executives in attendance listened with rapt attention. Their quest for ISO 9002 culminated in this moment. Months of preparation were about to pay
"Print Communications and the Electronic Media Challenge" by Alan Kotok and Ralph Lyman should be required reading for everyone involved in printing management, ownership, and marketing and sales. I don't know about you, but I get baffled by all of the new methods, devices, jargon and techniques that are now a part of daily experience in the printing business. I just can't keep up with all the RIPs, TIFFs, PROSE and SNAPs. It is such a relief for me to read through this book and be able to refer to it each time one of these concepts comes up. That's why I want to
To feed or divert a discontented populace, the ancient Romans offered bread and circuses. And, to a certain extent, they met with success. Their idea lingers in today's world of graphic arts sales compensation; some printers pay straight salaries to their sales forces, while other printers add various incentives and bonuses. Despite what many consider to be the intrinsic nature of motivation, incentive plans can help boost individual performance in certain situations. In this second of two installments (see March issue, page 56), Printing Impressions reviews incentive plans and other issues relative to commercial printing sales compensation. Various industry players share their thoughts and
A familiar declaration, usually delivered in emphatic tones: Advertising doesn't work for commercial printing companies! Heard that before? I have. Often. It's a truism—a seemingly self-evident statement likely to be called into question only by rookie marketers. No one likes to be a novice, wet behind the ears, unaware of what works and what doesn't, not really knowing how to do the things that matter. And so, in many printing companies, advertising is an unexamined option, seldom considered by marketing and sales executives. The belief that advertising holds no benefit for commercial printers is so strong that a surprising number of specialty printers, with highly focused
One of my partners here at Compass Capital Partners, Steve Marcus, says that I can't say no. He says that I have a "mother-hen complex" and, because of this malady, I am compelled to solve the problems of others. I guess you could say that I'm "can't-say-no impaired." Years ago, when I was a big-shot executive, one of my secretaries, the lovely Miss Pam Stewart, made a needlepoint decoration and framed it for my office. It read, "No, Nein, Negatory, Non, Hell No!" She had observed the same weakness that Steve Marcus has discovered in me. I keep Pam's needlepoint near my office phone
Not long after revelers congregated in Times Square to watch the ball drop, signaling the start of 1998, paper prices reflected the first increase of the new year. "It was three dollars per hundred weight or roughly 6.5 percent on a typical 40/45 lb. number four or five sheet," relates Bruce Janis, president of MSPGA: Management Science for the Publishing and Graphic Arts, of the first-quarter jump. MSPGA Internal Paper AnalysisMarket Prices Charged by 10 Sample Printers  45 lb. No.540 lb. No.5 Printers(anon.)Nov.Mar.Nov.Mar. A$42.90$45.75$45.76$48.75 B$41.85$44.86$44.20$47.00 C$43.75$46.75$43.00$46.00 D$44.55$48.68$47.52$50.25 E$44.59$47.50$50.55$52.50 F$42.55$45.70$44.10$47.25 G$45.55$48.00$46.85$50.00 H$42.90$45.90$47.52$50.52 I$41.56$44.50$50.22$53.00 J$45.75$48.75$48.50$51.50 Mean$43.60$46.64$46.82$49.68 Source: MSPGA Management Science for thePublishing and Graphic Arts (New York)Questions or comments may be directed toMSPGA at (888) MSPGA14. HTTP://www.MSPGA.com The increase was
Editor's Note: This is the 14th installment in the monthly series on The F.P. Horak Co., a Bay City, MI-based printing firm pursuing ISO 9002 registration. During an ISO audit, one major non-compliance can mean the difference between success and failure. That doesn't leave much room for mistakes. Fortunately, The F.P. Horak has remained largely within compliance (knock wood) so far. A recent pre-assessment failed to uncover any serious errors in Horak's quality system. The company finds comfort in the fact that the registrar representative walked away from the pre-assessment without any worries. Still, Horak remains vigilant against major non-compliances. After all, the pre-assessment was only
Recall Dr. Quincy, the television series pathologist? He conducted postmortem examinations of bodies of crime victims. I caught a rerun the other day of that old Jack Klugman series, and it triggered some thoughts about costing and printing—if you can imagine that! When I talk about "job costing" with a printer, the usual response is, "Yeah, we've got a terrific estimating system." We have a tendency to equate job costs with cost estimating and often overlook perhaps the major value of a job costing system. We should play Quincy with our cost accounting system. Dr. Quincy didn't try to predict when a given person would die
